~*FOXFIRE*~

Part 1

***
His horse galloped at full speed across the greenery. Tall trees loomed before him as he and his companions rode to their destination.

" What're we hunting?" Die asked as his dark brown horse slowed to a stop. He stroke its shiny mane.

" Foxes."

Kyo jumped down from his horse and strode into the woods, a rifle in hand. His smug look dared Die to follow. Kaoru readjusted his gloves and trailed behind Kyo. Putting on a cap, tucking his long hair under it in a messy fashion, Die clutched his own black rifle and entered after his childhood friends.

The branches and thick leaves hooded the ground and its animals from the spring sun, making the forest appear gloomy and frightening. Kaoru's boots made the fallen twigs snap as he stepped on them. He saw a squirrel on the ground, probably picking nuts, before it ran away in fright. They went deeper into the thicket.

" We should split," Kaoru suddenly said. Die blinked at him.

" Hunting doen't mean we have to chase after the same foxes in the damn woods! And end up catching nothing!" Kaoru huffed as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

" Oh, okay. How will we meet up later?" Kyo questioned.

" Back at our horses. Be there before dark okay? You know how your mother gets if I don't bring you back in one piece!...Make that well before dark," he said.

" Well, nanny!" Kyo stuck his tongue out at Kaoru.

" Let's hunt!" Die exclaimed.

Despite his enthusiasm, Die found himself fumbling with the routes (or the lack of it) as he wondered how he was going to catch a fox to beat Kaoru. Foxy, foxy, where are you??? ... As if answering a question, he saw a flash of silver dashing from a bush to another. He stopped in his track, holding his breath. A soft shuffling sound hushed in the dimness. Die saw a black snout peeking out from under the bush, the whiskers twitching, sniffing out scents.

Aha!

Aiming at that particular bush, Die triggered a shot.

***
Toshiya yelped in pain as something painfully teared through the flesh of his hind legs. Panicking as well as hurting, he saw the hunter coming towards him. His fur bristled as he ran as fast as he could with his injured limb. Blood oozed out from the wound.  The hunter was still after him, in his hands was the horrible black weapon.

_I hate being in this form,_ he found himself thinking.

The forest was a maze; the fox zig-zagged for his burrow. Yet he knew he couldn't make it as he felt his left leg throbbing in pain. He heard a blast and another bullet brushed past him. He ran.

_Please let me go!!!_

A flying bullet shot him again in his leg. He gave out a final cry before falling into darkness.

***
Where's that moron??

Shinya jerked his furry head up as he heard a gunshot and a yelp.

Toshiya!!!

He ran out of the burrow, towards the thundering sound of firearms. He reached just to witness his friend's limp body snagged up by the collar in the hands of a young man. He saw the blood soaking the Toshiya's black fur as it turned crimson at the silver stripes on his tail. But there was little he could do; he crouched among the green leaves of a raspberry bush, camouflaging his red body from the human.

***
" Hey, you caught something!" Kyo exclaimed. The sun was still above the horizon.

" Black fox. Made me run like shit to catch it. What you've got?" Die examined the prize of his hunt before dumping it into a sack and clasping it onto the back of the horse.

" We can have rabbit stew tonight."

" Geh, I'm the only one that didn't catch anything!" Kyo mused as three of them rode home.

" So what about the fox??" Die asked as they handed their precious horses to the stableman.

" I don't know. You can make a fur scarf," Kyo suggested.

" I don't wear scarves." He frowned as he peered into the bag containing the animal. " It's nice. I'll keep it as a pet!"

" If it lives," Kaoru swinged the heavy door open.

In his room, Die stretched, feeling sore all over from the running around. He was still holding the sack; he didn't want to stain his carpet with the blood. He would clean the fox after he had taken a bath, he thought as he stripped.

***
The moon shone through the wispy black clouds, casting a glow into the nocturnal woods. A young man sat by the edge of a clear pond that lay deep in the forest. Its waters reflected the night sky; the stars twinkled on it like little fireflies. Shinya's red hair played with the night breeze as he stood up. The huge mansion looked small from faraway. His thought went back to the incident this afternoon. The blast...Toshiya's motionless body...the blood...the hunter taking away his one and only friend...

Tears collected at the rims of his eyes. He wiped them off. His naked body felt cold against the biting air, his feet wet against the moist grass. He stared at his own reflection for a while.

_I have to get some clothes...I have to save Toshiya...please don't let me be too late..._

***

End of Part 1